Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow.
While there is no denying that the world loves a winner, it is important that you recognise the signs of stress in your behaviour and be
healthy enough to enjoy your success. Stress can strike anytime, in a fashion that may leave you unaware of its presence in your life.
While a certain amount of pressure is necessary for performance, it is important to be able to recognise your individual limit. For
instance, there are some individuals who accept competition in a healthy fashion. There are others who collapse into weeping wrecks
before an exam or on comparing mark sheets and finding that their friend has scored better. Stress is a body reaction to any demands
or changes in its internal and external environment. Whenever there is a change in the external environment such as temperature,
pollutants, humidity and working conditions, it leads to stress. In these days of competition when a person makes up his mind to
surpass what has been achieved by others, leading to an imbalance between demands and resources, it causes psycho-social stress. It
is a part and parcel of everyday life.
Stress has a different meaning, depending on the stage of life you are in. The loss of a toy or a reprimand from the parents might create
a stress shock in a child. An adolescent who fails in the examination may feel as if everything has been lost and life has no further
meaning. In an adult the loss of his or her companion, job or professional failure may appear as if there is nothing more to be achieved.
Such signs appear in the attitude and behaviour of the individual, such as muscle tension in various parts of the body, palpitation and
high blood pressure, indigestion, and hyperacidity. Ultimately, the result is self-destructive behaviour such as eating and drinking too
much, smoking excessively, relying on tranquilisers. There are other signs of stress such as trembling, shaking, nervous blinking,
dryness of throat and mouth and difficulty in swallowing. The professional under stress behaves as if he is a perfectionist. It leads to
depression, lethargy, and weakness. Periodic mood shifts also indicate the stress status of the students, executives, and professionals.